Thursday, April 30, 2009

---'T would be a wildish destiny,If we, who thus together roamIn a strange land, and far from home,Were in this place the guests of Chance:Yet who would stop, or fear to advance,Though home or shelter he had none,With such a sky to lead him on?

The dewy ground was dark and cold;Behind, all gloomy to behold;And stepping westward seemed to beA kind of heavenly destiny:I liked the greeting; 't was a soundOf something without place or bound;And seemed to give me spiritual rightTo travel through that region bright.

The voice was soft, and she who spakeWas walking by her native lake:The salutation had to meThe very sound of courtesy:Its power was felt; and while my eyeWas fixed upon the glowing sky,The echo of the voice enwroughtA human sweetness with the thoughtOf travelling through the world that layBefore me in my endless way.

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.

Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.

My mind withdrew its thoughts from experience, extracting itself from the contradictory throng of sensuous images, that it might find out what that light was wherein it was bathed... And thus, with the flash of one hurried glance, it attained to the vision of That Which Is.

If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times.

Friday, April 17, 2009

"The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their heart the invitation of Christ."

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

He hath made everything beautiful in its time: also he hath set eternity in their heart, yet so that man cannot find out the work that God hath done from the beginning even to the end. ~Ecclesiastes 3:11

Monday, April 6, 2009

The longer I live and the more I seeOf the struggle of souls towards the heights above,The stronger this truth comes home to me—-That the Universe rests on the shoulders of love,A love so limitless, deep, and broad,That men have re-named it, and called it God.

And nothing that was ever born or evolved,Nothing created by light or forceBut deep in its system there lies dissolvedA shining drop from the great Love source;A shining drop that shall live for aye;Though kingdoms may perish and stars decay.

Each minute of a further lightDraws me towards perspective Spring.I fold the minutes back each night,I hear the gossipingOf birds whose instinct carries time,A watch tucked in the flourished breast.It ticks the second they must climbInto a narrow nest.So birds. But I am not thus powered.Impulse has gone. My measured cellsOf brain and knowledge are too storedAnd trust to birds and bells.Yet longer light is fetching meTo hopes I have no reason for.A further lease of light each daySuggests irrational more.

About Me

“Therefore, dear Sir, love your solitude and try to sing out with the pain it causes you. For those who are near you are far away... and this shows that the space around you is beginning to grow vast.... be happy about your growth, in which of course you can't take anyone with you, and be gentle with those who stay behind; be confident and calm in front of them and don't torment them with your doubts and don't frighten them with your faith or joy, which they wouldn't be able to comprehend. Seek out some simple and true feeling of what you have in common with them, which doesn't necessarily have to alter when you yourself change again and again; when you see them, love life in a form that is not your own and be indulgent toward those who are growing old, who are afraid of the aloneness that you trust.... and don't expect any understanding; but believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.” ~Rainer Maria Rilke